We all know how prevalent Alzheimer's Disease is becoming among older adults. Fortunately, researchers are paying growing attention to this area. Neuropsychologist Robert S. Wilson, at the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, recently published a promising study titled "Frequent Brain Stimulation In Old Age Reduces Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease":



- "The study found a cognitively active person in old age was 2.6 times less likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer's disease than a cognitively inactive person in old age. - "Wilson says the study also found frequent cognitive activity during old age, such as visiting a library or attending a play, was associated with reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment, a transitional stage between normal aging and dementia, and less rapid decline in cognitive function." - "If you want your mind to stay healthy into your golden years, don't worry, be happy.

In short, both stress management and brain exercise are critical, according to those recent studies. In previous articles have also mentioned the important roles of nutrition and physical exercise.

Now, we shouldn't expect magic. We just came across an article titled Best Computer ?Brain Games' for Senior Citizens to Delay Alzheimer's Disease. We see this confusion often-that headline is based on no clinical research. Some names that appear in the article are Posit Science, MindFit, Dakim and MyBrainTrainer. And there are more programs: what about Happy Neuron, Lumosity, Spry Learning and Captain's Log. Not to talk about Nintendo Brain Age, of course.

Some of those programs have real science that, at best, shows how some specific cognitive skills (like memory, or attention) can be trained and improved-no matter the age. This is a very important message that hasn't yet percolated through many brains out there: we know today that computer-based software programs can be very useful to train some cognitive skills, better than alternative methods (paper and pencil, classroom-based, just "daily living").

Now, no single program can make any claim that it specifically delays/ prevents Alzheimer's Disease beyond general statements such as that Learning Slows Physical Progression of Alzheimer's Disease (hence the imperative for lifelong learning) and that mental stimulation-together with other lifestyle factors such as nutrition, physical exercise and stress management may contribute to build a Cognitive Reserve that may reduce the probability of problems. Tools such as these may be helpful to delay the appearance of some symptoms, but we don't know how to delay the disease. And there is no evidence that one particular program is better than another for that purpose of delaying the disease. Or better than playing the piano, or learning German.

Given this context, and the importance of the topic, we are happy to see the birth of the Healthy Brain Initiative by CDC and Alzheimer's Association. We are sure that research will start to accumulate and guide efforts to delay dementias. For the time being, in our view, we should view brain fitness programs as useful tools to train and develop specific skills, whether it is auditory processing in the case of Posit Science, a variety of them at MindFit, working memory at Cogmed, peripheral vision and others through IntelliGym. We can improve our quality of life, productivity and mental faculties. All these tools probably help to reduce the probability of developing Alzheimer's and other dementias (so I personally make sure to learn new things and skills as often as I can, and using these tools is part of that), but that shouldn't be the main reason why people use them since it is an indirect relationship at this point.

For more information, the National Institute on Aging provides a great article on Can Alzheimer's Disease be Prevented?. And you can always consult our SharpBrains checklists on How to Select the Right Brain Fitness Program for guidance.

In short: long live lifelong learning and brain exercise! long live good lifestyle habits such as stress management, good nutrition and physical exercise!! But please, take the Alzheimer's-related claims that companies may make with a grain of salt.

Copyright (c) 2007 SharpBrains